Estes Park Opinion

Theater producer denies sex abuse claim

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawyers for a theater producer on Wednesday denied sexual abuse claims made against their client in a lawsuit by a man who has leveled similar allegations against other entertainment industry figures.

Attorneys Alan Grodin and Paul Gaspari issued a statement on behalf of producer Gary Goddard, saying he was not in Hawaii when the alleged acts occurred more than a decade ago.

Goddard is one of four people, including "X-Men" director Bryan Singer, who was sued this month by former aspiring actor and model Michael Egan III.

The lawsuit alleges Egan, who is now 30, was sexually abused on a trip to Hawaii in 1999.

Singer also denied he was in Hawaii at the time of the alleged acts. Louise Ann Fernandez, an attorney for former television executive Garth Ancier, previously said Ancier had never visited the estate in Hawaii where Egan claims he was molested.

Goddard "did not molest or touch or annoy Mr. Egan or commit any of the acts alleged," Grodin and Gaspari wrote. "Also, he did not furnish drugs or alcohol to any minor at any time."

An email seeking comment from Egan's attorney Jeff Herman was not immediately returned.

The statement by Grodin and Gaspari also referred to a 2000 lawsuit filed in Los Angeles by Egan against a man later convicted of transporting minors across state lines to have sex. That lawsuit did not mention Goddard, Singer, Ancier or David Alexander Neuman, another former TV executive sued by Egan.

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Attempts to reach Neuman for comment have been unsuccessful.

Ancier was a founding programmer at Fox who later created programming for The WB and was a top executive at NBC Entertainment.

Gary Goddard Entertainment, which has co-produced Broadway plays and musicals, including Neil LaBute's "Reasons To Be Pretty" in 2009 and Diane Paulus' recent revival of "Hair" that same year.

The lawsuits were filed in Hawaii under a law that temporarily suspends the statute of limitations in civil sex abuse cases. None of the men has been criminally charged, and the statute of limitations for any such charges has passed.

Singer's attorney, Marty Singer, has denied the director abused Egan and called the allegations defamatory.

Egan claims he was lured into a sex ring run by a former digital entertainment company executive with promises of auditions for acting, modeling and commercial jobs. He was put on the company's payroll as an actor and forced to have sex with adult men at parties within Hollywood's entertainment industry, he claims.

The Associated Press does not typically name victims of sex abuse but is naming Egan because he is speaking publicly about his allegations.

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